I will celebrate my birthday with close friends and family, says Shweta Tripathi

Shweta Tripathi, who is known for her performances in films such as Masaan (2015) and Haraamkhor (2017) and the shows Mirzapur and The Gone Game, turned 36 today.

In light of prevailing circumstances, Tripathi has opted to celebrate her birthday with close friends and family members. "I just completed a hectic schedule of The Gone Game (Season 2) and returned home. I have been shooting in bio-bubble for the past few days so it feels good to be back with my family to celebrate my birthday," the actress told Cinestaan in a recent telephonic interview.

If things were normal, Tripathi would have preferred to travel someplace to celebrate her birthday. "If there was no COVID, I would have been travelling. I don't like to stay in Mumbai for my birthday and New Year's celebrations. it's always good to do your favourite activity on your birthday; for me, it's travelling," she said.

The first season of The Gone Game was conceived, shot and released during the first lockdown. The web-series, which revolves around the mysterious death of Sahil Gujjar (Arjun Mathur), received wide critical acclaim. Tripathi plays Sahil's sister Amara who ends up uncovering an elaborate conspiracy while attempting to solve the mystery.

The Gone Game explores the realities of the times we live in and this helped Tripathi understand the psyche of her character. "My character experiences the same things we are experiencing because of COVID such as wearing masks and gloves and being in isolation for days. So in a way, this really helped me understand what the character was going through. My character is also stuck in a house; so was I," she said.

This second season was shot in a hotel where all the actors performed in a bio bubble. The isolation helped Tripathi get into character. "Our entire cast was living in one hotel. Generally, hotels are buzzing with people; there is always a lot of noise. But there was complete silence in our hotel because we were the only ones there. So on the first day, I felt a little strange but as we started shooting, this isolation really helped me to relate to the character. So shooting in bio bubble was a blessing in disguise for us".

For the first season, all the actors had to shoot from their homes which was a tough task, because apart from acting they also had to keep an eye on the technical aspects such as sound recording, setting up a camera angle and lighting but things have improved for Tripathi and the other artistes.

"I had to only focus on my department, which is performing, while the technical things were taken care of by other technical staff. Acting is a lot about reacting, so acting with Sanjay [Kapoor] sir or Rukhsar [Rehman] ma'am gives me another kind of joy. This last week was so fantastic. I have shot with one of my favourite directors, Abhishek Sengupta, who directed me in Laakhon Mein Ek (Season 2), so that makes it even more special. You want to work with people who are passionate about their work and these people are," she said.

In the first season, Tripathi's character donned the hat of a detective, trying to get to the bottom of her brother's death. Asked about her character's role this season, the actress replied, "I can't reveal much about my character but one thing I can guarantee is that there is a lot of drama. I generally don't like to watch the monitor after I have given my shot, but based on whatever little snippets I have seen, I can confidently say that it's going to be a really good show. Amidst all this, I developed a wisdom tooth and I was also suffering from a cold and cough. So, like my character, I was also in a lot of pain. I utilized this to make my character more believable. 

Apart from The Gone Game, Tripathi will be seen in two more interesting projects, the drama series Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein, which also stars Tahir Raj Bhasin, and the techno-thriller show Escaype Live. The actress recently finished the shooting of the show which will be released on Netflix this year.

Speaking about her experience working in the show, Tripathi said, "Shooting for Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein was a great experience. After Masaan, I finally got to do the romantic drama genre again. And I absolutely enjoyed it. Romance is a very integral part of Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein. And Tahir is a fantastic actor. He is very passionate about his craft. He is a gem of a person and actor. I would love to work with him again."

Tripathi will begin shooting for Escaype Live in August. "I can't wait to begin the shoot. I'm sporting a different look in the show. I like that every character looks completely different from the other. We will shoot the show in Mumbai and Benares," she said.